A Special Zone for Highly Skilled Workers Drives Changchun’s Development

ALONGSIDE the waves of sci- ence and technology reform rolling across China, utilizing talented people has become a domestic key imperative that is set to drive economic development into the future. It just makes sense. Any country with a highly capable, professional workforce is better equipped to weather international competition and become a world leader. Any city with a strong core of savvy individuals is well equipped to win the economic day. Highly skilled workers represent potential, power and a prosperous future.

Located at the center of the Songliao Plain in Northeast China, Changchun City lies at the core of the Northeast Asia Cross Economic Corridor. Various sobriquets compete over the city: “Auto City,”“Filmmaking City,” “The Photoelectric City,” “Science and Culture City,” “Uni- versity City,” “Forest City” and “Sculpture City.” These are all well deserved –Changchun is the birthplace of Chinas auto, film, optics, biopharmaceuticals and railway passenger car industries. Since the State Council set the “Plan for Cooperation and Development in the Tumen River Region, the ChangchunJilin-Tumen Development Pilot Zone was established as a national economic strategy area in 2009, and Changchun has embarked on a new round of rapid growth. As the city has fostered its science and technology prowess, it has been attracting highly skilled individuals, who in turn have been raising the alreadyhigh bar for innovation and enterprising spirit in this can-do city.

On September 15, 2011, the inaugural ceremony of the Changchun Special Zone for Highly Skilled Workers was held in the Changchun National Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone. Officials from the Organizational Department of the CPC Changchun Municipal Committee and Changchun National Hi-tech Industrial Development Zone announced at a press conference that the Special Zone for Highly Skilled Workers would be built into a national pilot zone for at- tracting and training the very talented, encouraging scientific innovation and supporting the development of emerging industries. The zone has been designed to play a positive role in promoting the development of the northeast part of Changchun City and the wider Changchun-Jilin-Tumen Region.

The establishment of the Special Zone for Highly Skilled Workers will play an important part in attracting the countrys most capable professionals and encouraging sci-tech cooperation in Northeast Asia, thus propelling the economic development of the region.

A Novel Concept in Human Resource Development

China has proven that if a city is prepared to make the most of every opportunity, then it can develop at a tremendous pace. As one of the key cities in the program of revitalizing the old industrial bases of Northeast China, Changchun boasts many great accomplishments. The city produced Chinas first automobile, first film, first cartoon, first railway passenger car, first trolley car, first subway train, first magnetic levitation passenger train, first laser device, first electronic microscope and first genetically engineered hepatitis B vaccine. However, entering the new century, the city experienced difficulties in furthering development based on its old model of focusing on investment, expansion and low-end production. Lack of innovation in industry and the problem of brain drain worried local government officials, who soon hit upon a new development model with sci-tech innovation and industrial upgrading at its core. This model requires highly skilled workers to take the innovation helm, and authorities came to realize that a sustainable development model for Changchun would be achieved only by organically combining the talents of a top quality workforce with the development of local industries.

In December 2003, the first National Conference on Human Resources Development was held since the founding of New China. At the conference, Chinese president Hu Jintao called for the development of human resources to power the countrys modernization drive. He also pointed out that priority should be given to developing a highly skilled professional workforce, and that those professionals should in turn help in training others so as to bring about a balanced distribution of qualified personnel throughout the country. Hus comments presaged the future direction of Changchuns human resources work.

Following Hus comments, the Chinese government subsequently made it clear to employers nationwide that there should be no strict set of rules to follow in judging the suitability of a potential employee. Educational background, professional title or working experience should not be the only things taken into account. Everybody, not just those with a slick resume, should be able to play a positive role in the workforce and have the opportunity to be trained to become highly skilled workers.

Since 2003, Changchuns personnel departments have insisted on a service-focused administration. A new mechanism for developing human resources and optimizing the environment in which private businesses operate has been established. In 2007, the CPC Changchun Municipal Committee and Changchun Municipal Peoples Government promulgated the “2009-2013 Plan for Human Resources Development” to meet the needs of the citys new round of construction and development. The plan elucidated the goals of further welcoming highly talented people, training personnel to fulfill roles for which there is a short supply of workers, combining the use of highly skilled workers with the development of industries, improving policies toward private businesses and bringing new technology to production.

In order to enhance human resources development work, in 2009, Changchun authorities announced the “2009-2013 Plan for Human Resources Development,” “Suggestions for the Enforcement and Expanding of the Introduction of Highly Skilled Workers for Key Projects,”“Suggestions for Enforcement of Attracting and Training More Individuals with Skills for Industrial Development” and“Suggestions for Accelerating the Training and Developing of Highly Skilled Workers for Industrial Development.”To meet the needs of the citys socioeconomic development and industrial upgrading, Changchun has inaugurated a series of policies to encourage highly qualified workers from both at home and abroad to move to Changchun and hence further aid in the development of the citys human resources base.

Highly skilled professionals have high hopes for their careers, so they tend to go to places where they can bring about their professional dreams. Changchuns years of efforts in attracting talented people have helped curb the brain drain from the city and turn the flow around.

The pace of Changchuns human resources development has never slackened. The local government has come to understand that policies need to be more flexible as more and more skilled workers converge on Changchun. In the past, the CPC Changchun Municipal Committee and Changchun Municipal Peoples Government have been cognizant of the fact that the citys previous policies had been largely macroeconomic and lacked depth at the microeconomic level. A new approach was needed.

As the saying goes, opportunity dances with those who are already on the dance floor ready to go. The 2010 National Conference on Human Resources Development was a turning point for Changchun. At the conference, “mechanisms for innovation” was put forward as one of the major guidelines for human resources development nationwide. It was also pointed out that special initiatives for supporting highly skilled workers could be established in large enterprises and hi-tech industrial areas where a relatively mature environment for attracting and cultivating talented professionals already exists.

Inspired by these ideas, the organizational department of the CPC Changchun Municipal Committee immediately embarked on a path of action to establish the first Special Zone for Highly Skilled Workers in the Changchun National Hitech Industrial Development Zone.

A New Way to Attract the Best

Based on the central governments policy initiatives, a “Special Zone for Highly Skilled Workers” is a zone in which human resource management is emphasized and a highly refined division of labor is brought about in all aspects of production. Companies in the zone aim to bring talented professionals to work in their own niches –and this has proved strongly appealing, especially for individuals seeking to start their own businesses. Changchuns“Special Zone for Highly Skilled Workers” is founded on the following ideals: a high degree of convergence and intermingling of skilled professionals; the solid integration of professionals with local industries; ensuring these skilled professionals contribute to training of local industry practitioners, and fostering technical innovation in an open, competitive environment.

In the course of its planning, Jilin provincial authorities and Changchuns organizational department decided to link up the special zone with the Changchun Hi-Tech Industrial Development Zone.

Yang Ziming, director of the Organizational Department of the CPC Changchun Municipal Committee, says that the development of the Special Zone should aim to foster the creativity essential to long-term economic development. In his view, the government should help to achieve the optimal combination of smart policy and dynamic spark that characterize a successful market economy. Yang notes that the “Special Zone for Highly Skilled Workers” is a pilot project that opens a new chapter in human resource management. By focusing on innovative and talented professionals, particularly those well acquainted with the latest technologies, the government hopes to foster technical innovation and inventive entrepreneurship. In this way, it should be possible to create an ideal setting for combining effective, tangible administration of human resources and the intangible market forces. The integration of the administrative prowess, policy guidance and market operations is a promising prospect.

Yang thinks it was logical for the Changchun Hi-Tech Zone to be chosen as the base for the Special Zone, since the city has an abundance of research institutes, enterprises and development zones. The following factors justify the choice.

Firstly, the hi-tech zone already has solid highly skilled workers and industrial foundation. For many years, the hitech zone has valued its human resource base as an important prerequisite to guaranteeing future development, and has focused on three-step talent-finding process: the introduction, cultivation and development of workers skills. The zone already devotes hundreds of million yuan annually to honoring its support for and stimulus policies toward promoting the convergence of high-caliber innovative individuals in the zone. Currently, there are 92 hi-tech enterprises in the zone, making up 40 percent of such enterprises in the province and 70 percent of such enterprises in the city. Its 18,000 innovative professionals account for one third of the citys talent reserve. In 2010, its total industrial output topped RMB 237.4 billion, accounting for 17.9 percent of provinces total and 41.3 percent of the citys total industrial output.

Secondly, the hi-tech zone has relatively flexible management, which represents a nexus between enterprises and government. The zone is also endowed with many other advantages. For one, it approaches technical innovation from many angles and creates synergy between them. As the only such zone endeavoring to become a national innovation technology park, it accommodates many provincial-level-and-above science and technology centers and postdoctoral workstations, all run by enterprises, which account for more than half the total number of such initiatives throughout Jilin Province.

The zone also distinguishes itself through its solid industrial foundation. It is a base for the industrialization of photoelectric information technologies supported by the State Torch Program. Its biomedical industry is at the pinnacle of domestic operations in aspects such as genetic and cell engineering. Its modern equipment manufacturing, cultural creative industry and electric car industry have been making great strides. As such, talented workers flock here. It has attracted nearly 1,000 overseas professionals from 23 countries such as the United States and Britain. About 100 financial service intermediaries and 20-plus funds institutions are found here. The zone has been recognized as a provincial and municipal leader for many years.

Seizing on the chance to attract even greater numbers of highly skilled workers, Changchun authorities conducted a series of research initiatives and investigations on the construction of the special zone. In March 2011, Yang hosted directors from many departments of the Changchun municipal government on a visit to the hi-tech zone and listened to their proposals on the direction and construction of the special zone. In April 2011, the Organizational Department of the CPC Changchun Municipal Committee held a mobilization meeting on the construction of the new zone, proposing a work plan and priority tasks to be completed in the near future. Yang also accompanied directors from the municipal departments of technology, human resources, industry and information to visit renowned experts and solicit their opinions on the construction of the special zone. In August 2011, the local government organized 73 highly regarded overseas professionals to visit the zone to garner their advice. On September 9, 2011, the leading group for skilled professionals of the Changchun municipal government discussed and passed the proposal, “Suggestions from the Changchun Municipal Government on Sup- porting the Construction of the Special Zone for Highly Skilled Workers.” On September 15, 2011, actual work on the zone officially got underway. In only half a year, work moved from primary preparation and investigations to drawing up plans on construction of the zone and finally on to the launch. In all these efforts, the local Organizational Department and the management of the hi-tech zone, which plays host to the new talent base, have excelled.

As this work was underway, many cities around China were advancing similar projects and exploring new modes for human resource management. Zhongguancun in the nations capital proposed in its new five-year plan to build an international special zone for highly skilled workers and aims for this to be the nations standard-bearer. Binhai New Area in Tianjin introduced a pilot project to forge better policies toward talented professionals, aiming in particular to build a zone for the convergence of high-caliber overseas and domestic workers. Wuxi City in Jiangsu Province proposed the“building a special zone for highly skilled workers in the next five years,” and set the target that by 2015 the contribution of such a zone to the local economy should reach 47 percent. Cities such as Wuhan, Shanghai and Xiamen also announced plans for the construction of such special zones.

Nevertheless, Changchun is still at the forefront nationally. In light of the “Suggestions by the Changchun Municipal Government on Supporting Construction of the Special Zone for Highly Qualified Workers,” Changchun plans to support further development of the special zone through a number of initiatives. In terms of the layout of key projects, Changchun will give priority to a batch of key science and technology programs, important R&D infrastructure projects and major projects on emerging strategic industries. In order to encourage business creation, Changchun has introduced support policies for budding enterprises, including financial assurances and discount loans. New rulings have been announced to facilitate prospective businesses accounting of intellectual assets such intellectual property rights as capital in company establishment – such capital can now be valued at up to 70 percent of registered capital.

To help in the transformation of patents and technologies into commodities and productive output, especially for local key industries, Changchun has invited highly-regarded businessmen who have started technology enterprises, as well as some outstanding private enterprises owners from other fields, to organize an evaluation team rich in professional experience to consider the value of new achievements and innovations in science and technology.

On opening of its own capital market, Changchun City aims to increase its investment in government-dominated business initiatives and venture capital, attract various types of investment institutions, and promote the development of equity investment institutions in the special zone. As for the use of the citys science and technology budget, institutions and enterprises taking on key science and technology programs are now entitled to use up to 13 percent of their set spending allowances for purchasing equipment and building new infrastructure. Highly skilled workers who fall under the national “Thousand Talents Program” now enjoy the preferential treatment of municipal-level experts. In addition, Changchun has introduced support policies for the easier promotion and commendation of its workers to ensure career advancement.

As an old Chinese saying goes, a workman must first sharpen his tools if he is to do his work well. Changchun hi-tech zone has introduced favorable policies on human resource management and taken advantage of its good industrial and human resource foundation to attract more highly skilled individuals and give free reign to their entrepreneurship spirit. All this, Changchun hopes, will firmly establish the city as a local, northeast and national engine of development.

Talent Plans for “Changbai Wisdom Valley”

A highly skilled labor pool is the key motivating power behind technological and scientific innovations and rising productivity. As this “Special Zone for Highly Skilled Workers” was established in the Changchun High-tech Industrial Development Zone in 2011, Yang Junliang, secretary of the CPC Working Committee of the zone, expressed his enthusiasm for the project. At the inauguration ceremony, he commented in his speech that the zone would help attract more talented people in larger numbers and integrate innovation-oriented resources. It was a crucial step for building up a strategic platform for emerging industries and propelling the development of the hightech zones nationwide.

For the zones continued development, favorable policies have been drafted to increase financial support and offer professionals more incentives to succeed. RMB 100 million for these purposes will be set aside annually. If one of the zones enterprise proposes a project that can be shown to have world-class prospects, start-up capital of up to RMB 50 million will be available to it.

Officials also plan to cooperate with the Chinese Academy of Sciences and Zhongguancun – reckoned to be Chinas Silicon Valley – to establish the biggest center for innovation in Jilin Province and the whole Northeast China. Plans are in place to integrate the resources of higher learning institutions, scientific research institutes, key laboratories and enterprises to speed up the establish- ment of more initiatives to attract talent, foster growth in emerging industries, and further progress on the Sino-Russian Science and Technology Park. These plans will provide high-caliber professionals with wider space for their ideas. But theres more. Local authorities hope to speed up the building of an exploratory national-level site for the integration of scientific technology and finance in order to create a diversified financial environment by bringing banks and insurance companies into contact with a greater number of financing channels.

The high-profile plan formulated by Changchun National High-tech Industrial Development Zone emphasized the significance of pooling talented workers from home and abroad in its plans for the coming five years. They plan to headhunt 30 highly skilled professionals with technological know-how from abroad, 200 successful entrepreneurs, 300 management professionals and 1,000 skillspecific workers. Of those above, over 15 are envisaged to be persons recognized under the national “Thousand Talents”Plan; more than 40 from the “innovation talent” plan and at least 30 from the service industry plan of Jilin Province. These polices should ensure rapid development for the province under its 12th Five-year Plan.

“Good prospects for business development are the main factor appealing to the talented individuals,” said Yang Ziming, director of the Organizational Department of Changchun City, on attracting more high-caliber professionals. He also said that the city must accommodate them well and provide a flexible, creative environment for incoming workers.

In the three months following the implementation of the “talent plans,” the city had received 79 applications, among which were 34 by leading professionals overseas, 34 by entrepreneurs, and 48 by holders of doctorate degrees.

The ocean is vast because it welcomes all rivers. Changchun is like the sea, and with an open-minded attitude it is striving to embrace an array of professionals from all over the world. Utilizing its position at the heart of Northeast Asia Cross Economic Corridor, Changchun is well equipped to become both a domestic pinnacle of smart industry and a place the worlds best minds come to call home.